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(Corrects mRNA description in paragraph 6 to pathogen from
virus)
* Plans to start clinical trial by end of 2022
* Malaria kills more than 400,000 people per year
* BioNTech explores vaccine production in Africa
BERLIN, July 26 (Reuters) - BioNTech wants to
build on its success in COVID-19 by developing the first vaccine
for malaria based on mRNA technology and aims to start clinical
testing by the end on 2022, in an attempt to eradicate the
mosquito-borne illness.
The Mainz, Germany-based company, which developed a COVID-19
vaccine with its partner Pfizer in ten months, said on
Monday it is also exploring vaccine production in Africa as part
of efforts to build up manufacturing capacity on the continent.
"The response to the pandemic has shown that science and
innovation can transform people's lives when all key
stakeholders work together towards a common goal," said BioNTech
Chief Executive and co-founder Ugur Sahin.
Scientists around the world have been working for decades to
develop a vaccine to prevent malaria that infects millions of
people every year and kills more than 400,000 - most of them
babies and young children in the poorest parts of Africa.
Malaria is a complex infection caused by a parasite that
evades recognition by the immune system, said Sahin, adding the
goal is to develop a vaccine that makes the parasite visible and
attackable from the very beginning.
Messenger RNA vaccines prompt the human body to make a
protein that is part of the pathogen, triggering an immune
response. They are also quicker to develop than traditional
vaccines and can be adapted relatively easily.
"The very high efficacy of two mRNA vaccines for COVID-19
have shown the world just how powerful this technology could be
against many diseases, including malaria," said World Health
Organisation (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who started
his career as a malaria researcher.
The world's first and only licensed malaria vaccine,
Mosquirix, was developed by GlaxoSmithKline over many
years of clinical trial across several African countries, but is
only around 30% effective.
Researchers at Oxford's Jenner Institute led by Adrian Hill,
one of the lead scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca
COVID-19 vaccine, are also developing a potential new malaria
vaccine that has shown promise in a year-long trial.
BioNTech said it will assess multiple vaccine candidates
that target the circumsporozoite protein (CSP), as well as new
antigens discovered in pre-clinical research and select the most
promising for a clinical trial due to start by the end of 2022.
The company is also scouting for suitable mRNA vaccine
production sites in Africa, either with partners or on its own,
and will receive support from the European Commission, the Bill
and Melinda Gates Foundation and other organisations.
BioNTech Chief Operating Officer Sierk Poetting said the
company would fund the research and initial production of the
vaccine itself and turn to its partners for support with
large-scale trials, as well as setting up infrastructure, such
as fill and finish sites and providing local training.
BioNTech also plans to start a clinical trial to test a
vaccine candidate for tuberculosis in 2022 and is working with
partners to develop vaccines against nine different infectious
diseases as well as for cancer.
(Reporting by Caroline Copley and Patricia Weiss; Editing by
Bernadette Baum)
